A black family in Commerce Township, Michigan, found a stuffed Tasmanian devil toy hanging by a noose in their yard Thursday morning, June 30.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident of a hanging toy in Black family’s front yard.

Bryant and her family were upset Saturday morning to find a Tasmanian devil toy tied upside down to a rope, hanging in their yard. The family said they didn’t know who may have done such hateful act.

Bryant called the act a form of “ethnic intimidation” since they’re among only a few Black families living in that area. “When you’re living so close to something like this – that’s hate. I don’t teach hate. I don’t teach that in my family,” she said.

Just two weeks ago, Bryant and her family heard a boater from their lake yelling racial slurs. She told News Report, saying, “The ignorance that I’ve found here has been unsurpassed. I can’t understand it.”

However, Mike Bouchard, the Oakland County Sheriff, assured them that such crimes will not be tolerated in the city.

It happens to be that some of these Black families live under a constant pressure of White people. Many of them are scared for their lives because they don’t know where a KKK member can hide to attack them. If those white supremacists have a chance to express their hate without punishment, one day they will lynch Black people instead of toys.

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